Iceland

Brief information about Iceland:

Iceland is an island located in the North Atlantic Ocean, halfway between Greenland http://69.90.163.170/~iaaas741/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=pageand Norway. Iceland is in geological terms one of the youngest landmass on earth and is quite active with volcanos and earthquakes. The island is about 103.000 sq/km in size and is Europe’s westernmost country. About 11% of Iceland is covered with glaciers. The biggest one, Vatnajokull on the south-eastern part of the island, covers about 8.400 sq/km and is up to 1km thick.

Iceland is populated by the descendants of the Vikings. The Vikings settled Iceland in the year 874 A.D. In 930 A.D. they founded the worlds oldest legislative assembly Althingi. Today, Iceland is populated by about 320.000 inhabitants. Due to it’s isolation in the North Atlantic, the population has remained very homogeneous and still speaks to old Viking language close to the original Old Norse.

According to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, there are approximately 70 Australians living in Iceland. See the DFAT fact-sheet on Iceland for more information.